Regulations and Compliance
EPA waste food scale/regulations:
Wasted Food Scale | US EPA Feeding Animals is in the third tier of EPA's Wasted Food Scale. Farmers have been doing this for centuries. Food scraps nourish animals which in turn nourish humans, keeping wasted food within the human food supply chain. Feeding food scraps to animals reduces the amount of conventional animal feed that needs to be grown and processed and reduces the environmental impacts associated with that feed production. Turning wasted food into animal feed can also save farmers and companies money as it can be cheaper than hauling wasted food to a landfill. Companies can also provide food scraps to producers that make animal or pet food. There are many opportunities to feed animals, help the environment and reduce costs.
SB1383 - CalRecycle:
July 29th, 2021, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) July 29th, 2021, CalRecycle updated your Q&A portal to address rendering and animal feed as an approved pathway for SB1383 landfill diversion: (A) Pursuant to Section 18983.1(b)(7) states that organic waste sent for lawful use as animal feed constitutes a reduction in landfill disposal, as long as it is not subsequently disposed at a landfill. 14 CCR, Section 17402.5(c)(7), and means a licensed animal food manufacturing activity, or a rendering activity which is authorized by California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) pursuant to Section 19300 of the Food and Agricultural Code, and in which no solid waste feedstock bypasses the manufacturing or rendering process
January 4th, 2023, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) released an Organic Diversion Implementation Update stating that Californian’s disposed of 41 million tons of organics waste and 21 million tons was organic waste under SB 1383. “Not only has California not achieved the 2020 statutory target of 50% reduction in organic waste below the 2014 baseline, but we are now disposing at a rate nearly 1 million tons above the baseline. “
